STM Faculty News

John Baldovin, S.J., professor of historical and liturgical theology, served as president for the meeting of the International Jungmann Society for Jesuits and Liturgy in Rome last June. He also directed a retreat for the Society of St. Edmund in Vermont in July. John also gave a lecture on “The Genius of Catholicism” to the 25th Anniversary Chapter of the Lutheran Society of the Holy Trinity in Mundelein, IL on Sept. 20.

André Brouillette, S.J., associate professor of systematic and spiritual theology, and Prof. Jeffrey Bloechl, from the BC philosophy department, co-edited the book Pilgrimage as Spiritual Practice: A Handbook for Teachers, Guides, and Wayfarers, released in August by Fortress Press. His own chapter talks about “Journey and Body: Theological Reflection from Pilgrimage.” He gave a lecture titled “From Pilgrimage to Synodality: The Journey of the Church” for doctoral students and faculty members at the Carmelite School of Theology Teresianum in Rome, where he spent a few weeks in May and June as a visiting professor. In June, he made two presentations on St. Marie de l’Incarnation (1599–1672). The first, “La spiritualité de Marie de l’Incarnation comme création d’espace(s),” was delivered online for the Centre d’Études Marie de l’Incarnation of the Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada). The second, “Résonances ignatiennes dans l’engagement: Louis Lallemant, Jean de Brébeuf et Marie de l’Incarnation,” took place at the Colloque Marie Guyart de l’Incarnation: “autrement moderne” Fondements théologiques et dimensions prophétiques d’une “vie selon le Christ,” organized at the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome. He got the opportunity to meet Pope Francis at an encounter at the end of the conference and gave him his book on pilgrimage!

Daniel J. Daly, associate professor of moral theology, published an article titled “The Virtuous Hospital: A Catholic Organizational Healthcare Ethics,” in the Journal of Healthcare Ethics & Administration 8, no. 2 (Fall 2022): 1–12. In addition, he delivered a conference paper titled “Envisioning the Virtuous Hospital: Catholic and Secular Contributions to Organizational Healthcare Ethics,” Catholic Theological Society of America, Atlanta, GA, June 2022. He also gave a Grand Rounds lecture at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, NH, in September: “Futility and Catholic Medical Ethics.” His article, "A Principlist Approach to Multiple Heart Valve Replacements for Patients with Intravenous Drug Use-Induced Endocarditis,” Journal of Medical Ethics 48, no. 10 (2022): 685–688 was selected as the “Editor’s Choice” by the editor for “its special interest or importance.”

Thomas H. Groome, professor of theology and religious education, published his new book What Makes Education Catholic: Spirituality. It has already had substantial sales and was awarded first place in its category by the Catholic Media Association. It has also had a very positive review in Theological Studies by Fr. Tom Rausch, S.J.

Melissa Kelley, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling, participated in two chaplain training and credentialing events in August, online and in North Carolina, through Presbyterian Federal Chaplaincies. To each group she offered a presentation on “Moral Injury, Narrative, and Meaning.”

Angela Kim Harkins, associate professor of New Testament, published Experiencing the Shepherd of Hermas, co-edited with Harry O. Maier, with De Gruyter Press. Her essay “Entering the Narrative World of Hermas’s Visions” appears in that volume. She also published an essay in the volume Studying the Religious Mind: Methodology in the Cognitive Science of Religion edited by Armin Geertz and published by Equinox Press. Harkins served as a paper respondent at the Boston Colloquy on Historical Theology on August 3. She was an invited panelist at a symposium honoring the publication of The Pharisees, edited by Joseph Sievers and Amy-Jill Levine. That event was hosted by the Jewish Theological Seminary and Fordham University Law School’s Institute on Religion, Law and Lawyer’s Work on September 15.

Richard Lennan, professor of systematic theology, published the Tilling the Church: Theology for an Unfinished Project (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022) and was co-editor and contributor to Priestly Ministry and the People of God: Hopes and Horizons (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2022). He was also the author of “Beyond the ‘Anonymous Christian’: Revising Rahner on Grace and Salvation,” Theological Studies 83 (2022): 443-60; “Developing Catholic Understanding and Practice of Ordained Ministry through Receptive Learning" in Receptive Ecumenism as Transformative Ecclesial Learning (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022), 156-66; and was a co-author of  “Theological Reflections on the First Assembly of the Plenary Council,” Australasian Catholic Record, 99 (2022): 131-45.

He gave a paper in June at the convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America, and served as a theological advisor to the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council in Australia, which was held in Sydney in July. Also during July, he led reflection days with the Synod Leadership Team of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle (Australia) and the Religious Education Leadership Team of the Diocese of Wollongong (Australia). In September, he conducted over Zoom a workshop on synodality for the Diocese of Toowoomba (Australia) and was in Rome to participate in a symposium on priesthood that was organized by the Australian Catholic University.

Catherine Mooney, associate professor of Church history, has been re-elected president of the Hagiography society, an international group of scholars who study saints and their cults. The Society sponsors sessions at academic conferences in the USA and Europe, publishes a book series, awards book and article prizes, and oversees other projects to invigorate research and teaching about the saints. In May, at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Catherine organized and presided at a scholarly session exploring the role of animals in saints' lives and their stories.

Theresa O’Keefe, professor of the practice, religious education, is back from a year of sabbatical leave. During Theresa’s sabbatical, she contributed a chapter to the forthcoming book on formative theological education, edited by Hosffman Ospino and Colleen Griffith. The focus of the book is creating mentoring communities in the classroom. Additionally, she has a journal article under review on creating an antiracist classroom. On a different front, Theresa continued work with colleagues from the Lynch School and School of Social Work to develop a tool to assess the growth of meaning-making capacity in college students. Finally, she was able to begin outlining a second book. Those projects, and two more of a more personal nature, have made for a very busy sabbatical year.  

Hosffman Ospino, associate professor of Hispanic ministry and religious education, received from the Catholic Media Association the first place award in the category Best Regular Column, General Commentary for his monthly column “Caminando juntos/Journeying Together,” published nationally via Catholic News Service. He published “Método y pedagogía en la formación teológico-pastoral: Una perspectiva hispana norteamericana,” in María Clara Bingemer and Peter Casarella, eds., Puentes y no muros: Construyendo la teología a través de América (Agape, 2022). He delivered the 2022 Sister Mary Dooley Lecture, “Hispanic Catholic Spirituality,” at the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Springfield, MA. He also delivered the following lectures: “The Fluid Reconstruction of Religious Identity among U.S. Hispanic and Latin American Catholic Youth across Cultural and Diasporic Borders” as part of The Church of Now: Young People and Global Catholicism Today conference, sponsored by the Center for World Catholicism & Intercultural Theology at DePaul University; and “Young Adult Hispanic Catholics: Architects and Builders of New Ways of Being Church in the U.S.” at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. Hosffman also gave the following keynote presentations: “Theological Underpinnings of Co-Responsibility” 2022 Annual Conference of Major Superiors of Men; and “What Is Eucharistic Catechesis,” during the 2022 Eucharistic Revival Conference. He presented the paper “The Hispanic Catholic Parish as a Local Borderland: Practical Ecclesiological Ruminations” during the 2022 Annual Colloquium of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. He was a panelist in the following discussions: “Theological Education Between the Times,” Association of Theological Schools Biennial Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA; and “What the Constitution Means to Us,” Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, Boston College; and “Creating a Culture of Discernment,” annual meeting of the National Association for Lay Ministry. He gave a presentation on Hispanic Catholics during the Institute for Administrators in Catholic Higher Education, sponsored by Boston College; a workshop on intercultural competencies; Diocese of Dallas, and a course on synodality for the Southeast Pastoral Institute in Miami, FL. Hosffman was one of 50 national Catholic leaders invited to participate in the National Leadership Convening under the title “Sharing the Joy of the Gospel and a Better Kind of Politics,” sponsored by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University.

Andrea Vicini, S.J., professor of moral theology, the Michael P. Walsh Professor of Bioethics, and an affiliate member of the ecclesiastical faculty, published the co-edited volume The Rising Global Cancer Pandemic: Health, Ethics, and Social Justice, Global Theological Ethics 2 (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications by Wipf & Stock, 2022); two peer-reviewed articles⸺“Ethical Considerations of Telehealth: Access, Inequity, Trust, and Overuse” in Journal of Health Ethics and “The Coronavirus Pandemic: Ethical Challenges in Global Public Health” in Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics; and three book chapters⸺two in the volume The Rising Global Cancer Pandemic (“The Challenging Global Cancer Pandemic” and “Cancer in the Context of Global Inequities and Disparities in COVID Times: An Ethical Reflection” and “Neuroscience and Theological Bioethics: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue,” in Neurowissenschaften in der Diskussion – Anregungen zum Weiterdenken / The Moral Brain: Stimuli for Further Reflection. He gave two lectures: (1) “Telemedicine beyond the Pandemic: The Human Work of Primary Healthcare,” at the conference Digital Health Communication: Issues and Perspectives in Dijon (France), and (2) “Protecting Our Planet,” at Fairfield University, Fairfield (CT).

He also presented the poster “‘Don’t Worry, You Can Trust Me’: Indicators of the Role of Trust in Residents’ Reflective Writing,” at the 20th International Conference on Communication in Healthcare in Glasgow, UK.